Effective January 1, 2024, the bid threshold for contracts awarded by school districts competitively bid pursuant to Public Contract Code (PCC) section 20111(a) increased from $109,300 to $114,500 (link available here). The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office released a similar memo announcing an adjustment to the bid threshold for contracts awarded by community college districts pursuant to PCC section 20651(a) from $109,300 to $114,500 (link available here). Contracts involving an expenditure exceeding the threshold amount and subject to the competitive bidding requirement include:

1. Purchase of equipment, materials, or supplies to be furnished, sold, or leased to the school district;
2. Non-construction services; and
3. Repairs, including maintenance as defined in PCC section 20115 for school districts or PCC section 20656 for community college districts, that are not public projects as defined in PCC section 22002(c).

For publicly owned facilities, the bid threshold for construction services contracts remains at $15,000, unless a district adopted the California Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act (CUPCCAA). For school districts and community colleges that adopted CUPCCAA, bid thresholds for construction services contracts remain as follows*:

1. Public projects of $60,000 or less may be performed by the employees of a public agency by force account;
2. Public projects of $200,000 or less may be awarded by informal bidding procedures; and
3. Public projects of more than $200,000 must be awarded by formal bidding procedures.

*Proposed CUPCAA bid thresholds are as follows:

1. Public projects of $70,000 or less may be performed by the employees of a public agency by force account;
2. Public projects of $100,000 or less may be performed by negotiated contract, or by purchase order without bidding;
3. Public projects of $220,000 or less may be awarded by informal bidding procedures; and
4. Public projects of more than $220,000 must be awarded by formal bidding procedures.

For change orders, the bid threshold remains the greater of (1) $15,000 or (2) 10% of the original contract price.

For more information about the adjusted bid thresholds, front end construction documents, or whether adopting CUPCCAA makes sense for your District, please contact an attorney in DWK’s Business, Property and Construction practice group.